GET MORE ENERGY

Dragging, lagging, sagging, or just plain tired and over it? Your body and your mind are trying to tell you something. If you listen carefully, you can turn things around. Plug into our amp-it-up manual to find out how.

- BY KATE ROCKWOOD AND MARISA COHEN

There's tired, and then there's tired—and the pace at which we all seem to be going these days often leads to the latter state.

Regular tiredness is your body's natural way of saying, “Hey, you've had a productive day—time to wind down, get some rest, and start fresh tomorrow.” But then there's the kind of exhaustion that feels like you're wearing a weighted blanket and is especially challenging in the middle of the day when you still have work, chores, dinner, and hopefully some fun stuff ahead of you. It's a whole other level of being wiped out. Feeling that kind of zonked is typical when you have a virus like the flu or COVID, but if you're one of the 15% to 20% of American women who, according to research by the CDC, say they feel that way every day, check in with your doctor. There are numerous treatable medical conditions that could make you feel as if you've just run a marathon even if you've barely moved from your bedroom to the sofa (see the next pages for more). If there's no medical reason for your fatigue, though, the issue may be that you're overtaxed by all your obligations, eating whatever you can grab throughout the day, and emotionally drained from dealing with an ever more contentious world. “Exhaustion in midlife can be related to many things, including changing hormonal levels as you go through perimenopause and menopause and a diet low in carbs or calories, which can backfire when it slows the metabolism and doesn’t give you enough fuel to get through the day,” says Christine Maren, D.O., a functional medicine physician in Denver. Yet there are proven ways to get your energy back. On page 76, experts give tips on how you can get the juice you need to not just meet your obligations but enjoy yourself too.

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